Formerly, in an automatic vending machine, there was an anxiety that genuine coins within the body of a coin dispensing apparatus is taken out intentionally by first throwing counterfeited coins into the machine and then making returning operation thereof, namely, for so-called money exchange fraud. In addition, in an automatic vending machine in recent years, many coins are put into it at one time of deal. Accordingly, it is desirable that a coin dispensing apparatus is provided with a temporary holding unit to hold coins to be put into it.
In this case, it is typical to adopt a structure in which the temporary holding unit is provided with a holding cylinder to hold coins therein and a coin positioned at the lowest position is swept by a wiper.
However, there is a case where an article is purchased after a coin was put into the machine, namely, the coin put into the machine is received, while there is another case where an article is not purchased and the coin put into the machine is returned by reason that a desired article has been sold out, a customer changes his mind, or money exchange fraud is conducted. Accordingly, a sorting mechanism, which sorts coins to coin receiving cylinders to be provided every kind of coin or an returning window, becomes necessary to be provided under the holding unit.
Accordingly, there occurs a problem that a sorting mechanism must be further provided under the temporary holding cylinder, which requires to make the coin dispensing apparatus larger in the up-and-down direction.
In order to solve this problem, Japanese patent application Laid-open No.8-147514 discloses a conventional coin dispensing apparatus comprising a coin sorting unit which discriminated genuineness of coins put into it, an allotting unit which allots genuine coins and counterfeited coins discriminated by the coin sorting unit to a receiving passage and a returning passage, respectively, and a plurality of change storing cylinders in which the coins allotted to the receiving passage are stored every coin kind, wherein the apparatus is provided with a holding cylinder which is positioned between the receiving passage and the change storing cylinders and holds the coins allotted to the receiving passage, and a coin-sweeping unit which sweeps the coins discharged from the holding cylinder, when an article is sold, to the change storing cylinders and, when returned, to the returning passage.
And, the holding tube of the coin dispensing apparatus comprises an entrance for coin which is formed midway in its up-and-down direction, a lifting mechanism which lifts coins held at the lower part of the holding cylinder, and a discharging mechanism which discharges the coin lifted by the lifting mechanism.
In the conventional coin dispensing apparatus, however, there are disadvantages in that its structure becomes complicated, the fabrication or working efficiency and the production cost is high, since the lifting mechanism must be provided.